The Democrats’ inability to gain traction can be measured in the fund-raising disparity between them and Republicans, and is reflected in interviews with strategists in both parties and independent analysts. The national party assesses the strengths of a campaign according to several factors, including the ability of candidates to raise money on their own and their standing in polls.

Some Democrats argue that national party leaders are making a strategic mistake by not being more aggressive in contesting Congressional seats early in a heavily Democratic state like New York. This year in particular, strong campaigns by Eliot Spitzer and Mrs. Clinton, who are both expected to win primary races tomorrow by wide margins, could help generate a huge Democratic voter turnout on Election Day.

Dan Maffei, a Democrat running against Representative James T. Walsh, a Republican representing the Syracuse region, argued in a recent interview that the national party should do more to help him and other Democrats challenging potentially vulnerable incumbents in New York. He said that such support would, if nothing else, give Democrats a strategic advantage in the larger battle for the House and force national Republicans to allocate resources that they otherwise plan to use to defend Republicans elsewhere in the country.

The Congressional campaign committee “needs to be contesting in more districts,” Mr. Maffei said.

“If you open up this front,” he said, “the Republicans will have to defend it.”

Among the seats Democrats have hoped to capture is the Albany-area seat held by Mr. Sweeney, a four-term Republican who has come under criticism for his ties to lobbyists. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democrat trying to unseat him, also argued that Democratic leaders in Washington ought to be aggressively expanding the map by stepping in with financial support for races like hers.

The Democrats have a slight advantage on their congressional committee side -YET- they are not giving out money this early when in races like this money could be critical.

When you hear the cheery predictions of Democratic power… you follow the money, and look at where it isn’t being spent

New York has a chance of Spitzer having coat tails for local democrats… so why keep the money tight?

The answer is they expect to get hit hard in later innings…but they aren’t closers (for the most part) which is what makes me scratch my head

I don’t think the democratic leadership knows how to move the chess pieces